Ford in home stretch for automated driving

June 24, 2015 //
By Christoph Hammerschmidt

US carmaker Ford Motor has announced that it is shifting from the research phase to the implementation phase for its Smart Mobility R&D program. The company kicks the pedal to the metal: It is about to set up a development program to apply the learnings from its initial research experiments.

The carmaker is also shifting the focus of the Smart Mobility program to include new strategic focus areas, new pilot programs and new product experiments. In terms of mobility research Ford said it is entering the next level which will include innovative usage and ownership models as well as multimodal urban travel solutions. The research will also take societal issues into account, said Ford CEO Mark Fields at a conference in Palo Alto (California).

The company recently announced an on-demand, public car-sharing pilot named GoDrive. The service offers customers flexible, practical and affordable access to a fleet of cars for one-way journeys with easy parking in London. Other announcements include an electric bike and a prototype smartphone app that facilitates using the eBike for urban commuters.